Lyor Cohen On Streaming Exclusives: “I Think It’s Damaging To Our Industry”
The veteran record executive shares his thoughts on the changing music industry landscape and more in a new interview.
300 CEO Lyor Cohen has been a key figure on the business-side of hip-hop for well over two decades. Now, the industry veteran helms one of the most groundbreaking rap labels and is overseeing the career of one of the genre's most groundbreaking stars in Young Thug. Cohen recently sat down with Complex to discuss his thoughts on recent shifts in the music industry landscape, the evolving role of a record label, and the keys to success in the music business.
Cohen also shared his opinion on streaming service exclusive releases, a much-discussed topic in the wake of exclusive releases from Kanye West, Frank Ocean, Beyoncé, and more in the past year. "I don’t believe in exclusives. I think it’s damaging to our industry," Cohen said of the practice that's becoming more and more common. "They should get a leg up because they’re the best consumer experience... When one has an exclusive or another has an exclusive, it’s interrupting the process of paid subscription. And I don’t like it."
Read Complex's full interview with Lyor Cohen here.